Child's Play 2
| starring = | music = Graeme Revell | cinematography = Stefan Czapsky | editing = Edward Warschilka | studio = Living Doll Productions | distributor = Universal Pictures | released = | runtime = 84 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $13 million | gross = $35.8 million }} Child's Play 2 is a 1990 American slasher film and the direct sequel to Child's Play, written by Don Mancini and directed by John Lafia, one of the co-writers in the first film. It is the second film in the ''Child's Play'' franchise and set two years after the first film; the plot follows Charles Lee Ray (better known as Chucky) continuing his pursuit for Andy Barclay, who was placed in foster care, and transferring his soul into him after being resurrected. The film stars Alex Vincent, who returns as Andy Barclay; Gerrit Graham and Jenny Agutter as Andy's foster parents; Christine Elise as Kyle; and Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. It is the debut appearance of Adam Wylie. In noteworthy contrast to the original, Child's Play 2 is the first in the series to incorporate a more campy, comedic approach. Child's Play 2 was released on November 9, 1990, exactly two years after the first film was released. The film took in an estimated $10.8 million in 1,996 screens and grossed an estimated $28.5 million in the United States. It holds a 40% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews. It was followed by Child's Play 3 Plot Two years after the murderous doll was destroyed, Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) is resurrected by the PlayPals company to prove there is no fault with the dolls. As a result of Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) blaming Chucky for the murders committed, the company has suffered. One of the men working on Chucky is killed by electrocution. As a result, the CEO of the company, Mr. Sullivan (Peter Haskell), orders his assistant Mattson (Greg Germann) to cover the accident and get rid of Chucky. Meanwhile, Andy is trying to move on from the past to a new life since the traumatizing murders. He is now in foster care, due to his mother being in a mental hospital for supporting his story about Chucky. Andy is adopted by Phil (Gerrit Graham) and Joanne Simpson (Jenny Agutter). In his new home, Andy meets his new foster sister Kyle (Christine Elise) who is mean-spirited, but soon develops a bonding relationship with Andy. After work, Mattson drops by the corner store. While he leaves his car, Chucky uses the car phone to call Grace Poole (Grace Zabriskie), the manager of Andy's foster center. He claims to be a relative of Andy's in order to get his new address. He then hijacks the car and orders Mattson to drive outside the Simpson household at gunpoint. Chucky then kills him by suffocating him with a plastic bag before rushing towards the Simpson residence. In the house, Chucky accidentally activates another Good Guys doll called "Tommy". Chucky then destroys him with Joanne's ornament. Chucky then buries the doll in the garden and takes his place as "Tommy". Phil punishes Andy and Kyle, believing one of them broke the ornament. After Andy spends the rest of the day with Kyle, he is attacked by Chucky until interrupted by Kyle. After Andy claimed Chucky tied him up, Phil throws Chucky in the basement. Alone, Chucky discovers a nosebleed, meaning he’s going human again. Therefore, he realizes that if he doesn’t get in Andy’s body in time, he will remain as a doll. The next day, Chucky hitches a ride on the bus to Andy's new school. Andy's teacher Miss Kettlewell (Beth Grant) discovers an obscenity Chucky wrote on his worksheet. Believing Andy was responsible, she forces Andy to stay in the classroom as punishment and locks Chucky in the closet, thinking Andy brought him along which is against the rules. Andy manages to escape, and Chucky beats Miss Kettlewell to death with a yardstick. After Andy insisted Chucky got him in trouble, Phil considers taking him back to the foster center. Later that night, Andy tries to kill Chucky with an electric knife in the basement, but Chucky emerges to attack him. Phil goes to investigate the commotion but Chucky trips and neck-snaps him, killing him. Joanne, convinced that Andy murdered Phil, sends him back to the foster center immediately. Kyle discovers the buried "Tommy" doll in the garden and realizes Andy was being truthful. She rushes in to warn Joanne only to find her dead at her desk. Chucky suddenly arises, and forces her to drive him to the center to find Andy. Chucky then pulls a fire alarm to get everyone out of the building. During the false fire alarm, Chucky fatally stabs Grace to her death and orders Andy to take him to the PlayPals Good Guys factory for the transfer. Kyle follows Chucky and Andy to the factory. Successfully making it, Chucky knocks Andy unconscious and attempts the ritual to transfer his soul into Andy. However, Chucky is able to finish the chant until suddenly, his nose starts to bleed. The transfer failed since he spent too much time within the doll's body and is now trapped inside the doll’s form. Enraged, Chucky blames Andy and begins going after both Andy and Kyle. Andy and Kyle crawl their way up a conveyor. Chucky gets on to attack them but Andy and Kyle flee, Kyle closes the gate, slamming it shut on Chucky’s hand. Chucky rips off his hand free, sticks his arm in a dagger as replacement and continues to go after Kyle and Andy. After murdering a factory worker, Kyle and Andy then manage to put Chucky into a machine and activate an emergency assembly, and the machine starts mutilating him, causing various arms and legs to go into his torso. Unfortunately Chucky escapes by cutting off his own mixed waist. Kyle is hit by the worker's corpse swinging on a crane, knocking her unconscious. Chucky then lunges at Andy, attempting to stab him but the knife gets stuck in a radiator, and Andy then pours molten plastic all over him. Andy then saves Kyle by pulling her off of the conveyor belt, stopping at a melted Chucky. He suddenly jolts up and struggles with Kyle, until she shoves a high pressure air hose in his mouth, resulting in his head swelling and exploding leaving the doll dead for good. After the two escape the factory, Kyle tells Andy they're going home. Andy asks where is home, to which Kyle replies she has no idea. Cast * Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay * Brad Dourif as Chucky * Christine Elise as Kyle * Jenny Agutter as Joanne Simpson * Gerrit Graham as Phil Simpson * Grace Zabriskie as Grace Poole * Peter Haskell as Mr. Sullivan * Beth Grant as Miss Kettlewell * Greg Germann as Mattson * Adam Wylie as Sammy Production United Artists released the original Child's Play in 1988 and greenlit the second film. The sequel was in pre-production when an UA executive told producer David Kirschner that the film was put on hold as the studio was about to be acquired by the Australian group Qintex, which decided it was not in their best interest to make horror films. After offers with Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, The Price Company, Carolco (who during this time had a distribution deal with Columbia's sister studio, TriStar Pictures), New Line Cinema (now a label of Warner Bros.), and Disney's Touchstone Pictures label to buy the film were rejected, Kirschner produced it independently with Universal Pictures distributing. Novelization A tie-in novelization to the film was later written by Matthew J. Costello. The author added in some of his own plot scenes exclusive to the novel, such as going deeper into Andy Barclay and Chucky's past. Chucky is characterized to have an absent father and his abusive mother being a dwarf. Chucky got teased a lot because of this and later strangled his mother to death. Also, Chucky was put in special classes when he was younger. Reception Box office Its opening weekend earned an estimated $10,718,520 on 1,996 screens in the US. The film grossed an estimated $28,501,605 in the US and was #1 at the box office. It grossed an additional $7.2 million internationally. Critical response Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 40% based on 15 reviews. Evan Dickson of Bloody Disgusting, in describing how it surpasses the origin film, wrote, "Child's Play 2 manages to strip away all artifice and still manage to be an effective slasher." Variety wrote, "Child's Play 2 is another case of rehashing the few novel elements of an original to the point of utter numbness." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. Home video releases Child's Play 2 was first released on VHS in North America on April 11, 1991. The film was later released on DVD in 1999 and bundled with the fourth film Bride of Chucky. It was released in multiple collections, such as: * The Chucky Collection (alongside Child's Play 3 and Bride of Chucky), released on October 7, 2003. * Chucky - The Killer DVD Collection (alongside Child's Play 3, Bride and Seed of Chucky), released on September 19, 2006. * Chucky: The Complete Collection (alongside Child's Play 1 and 3, Bride, Seed and Curse of Chucky), released on October 8, 2013. * Chucky: Complete 7-Movie Collection (alongside Child's Play 1 and 3, Bride, Seed, Curse and Cult of Chucky), released on October 3, 2017. Sequels The film was followed by Child's Play 3 in 1991, Bride of Chucky in 1998, Seed of Chucky in 2004, Curse of Chucky in 2013 and Cult of Chucky in 2017. References External links * * * * Category:1990 films Category:1990 horror films Category:1990s sequel films Category:1990s slasher films Category:American films Category:American sequel films Category:American slasher films Category:English-language films Category:Child's Play (film series) Category:Films set in 1990 Category:Films set in Chicago Category:Films shot in Chicago Category:Films shot in California Category:Films shot in Los Angeles Category:Films about dolls Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Films scored by Graeme Revell Category:Films directed by John Lafia